Individualized strategic planning for faculty development in medical schools

Background. Faculty development is essential to provide skills not taught in typical medical training such as designing curricula or scientific writing, to help medical faculty acquire new skills valued today such as financial management, and to maintain institutional vitality. Faculty development receives relatively little attention in many medical schools and is narrowly focused upon teaching skills. Innovation. We propose a program that includes individual needs assessment and strategic planning. This strategy is consistent with Knowles’ principles of andragogy, a model of adult learning that differs in some ways from traditional pedagogy. We have included a self-assessment tool that may be useful to medical schools and an illustrative case study. Evaluation. We have introduced the self-assessment tool to a small number of faculty members who have found it clear and useful. We plan to introduce it to a large number of faculty members and to measure completion rates, perceived usefulness, and subsequent participation in faculty development activities and fulfillment of goals. Conclusions. Faculty development needs to be a higher priority in medical schools and to better reflect the current needs of faculty members. An individualized faculty development process has the potential to have a substantial impact upon acquisition of important skills, and faculty and institutional morale and vitality.